Archive for 2015

With the countdown to the holiday break in full effect, we wanted to make sure all of our fantastic followers are well equipped to bring the holiday cheer. Show off your hospitality and bartending skills with the below list of holiday cocktails that will be sure to wow your friends and family.

While on vacation in Finland, I had the opportunity to attend Slush Conference – one of Europe’s largest tech and startup conferences held annually in Helsinki. In it’s eighth year, the conference had 15,000 attendees, showcased over 1,700 startups and had 800 venture capitalists looking to invest in companies. Slush also had over 30 speakers – entrepreneurs, heads of state, and executives from the tech and media space – giving talks on topics ranging from the state of music and gaming technology, ecommerce and mobile payments, virtual reality, health technology, and the Internet of Things.

It became very evident that the Nordics are and will continue to be a major hub for global tech innovation. It is the birthplace of popular apps like Skype, Spotify, and of course Angry Birds. Attendees came from over 100 different counties eager to get a look at the next slew of emerging startups.

Though this was a tech focused event, its insights are applicable to the experiential marketing industry. We’re consumer driven and staying on top of trends both domestically and especially globally will help keep us on the cutting edge.

Some of my most notable observations include:

Importance of Design
I sat in on a panel titled “Why Design Should Be In Every Company’s DNA”. The panelists all shared the opinion that the world’s highest valued companies are also the most design driven. It’s a trend mostly attributed to companies like Apple that emphasize aesthetics in product development as much as functionality. Their main argument was that good design is critical to distinguishing one self from the competition. Venture capital firms are hiring more designers to vet investments, making a company’s focus on design as essential to its viability as its financials.

From an experiential POV, this couldn’t be more true as the design aspect for any program we touch is of the utmost importance. From what we have found, bringing the look and feel of our client’s brand to life ensures that consumers understand the brand’s marketing story and personality while they develop a relationship with its products.

Healthtech/Wearables
A major theme of the conference was healthcare technology and innovations in the fitness and medical fields. I experienced various wearables and body monitors including heart rate and brainwave sensors, and a literal mood sensing ring. An Australian startup, CareMonkey, even won the 650,000 euro prize for best startup at Slush. CareMonkey is an app that automates the collection and distribution of sensitive personal data, saving time and the hassle of paper documentation. It also reduces the chance of medical errors by having all the crucial information easily and immediately accessible by mobile device.

Within the experiential space, we have seen wearables create ease for our event goers through wristbands. Today, the wristbands that were once only used for security purposes can do anything from sending event images to consumer emails to advising music festival attendees about what stages are the most or least crowded.

Virtual Reality
VR also had a large presence at Slush, and it was clear that the technology is still very much in its infancy but will continue to have a much large impact in our lives moving forward. VR gaming and video is already popular, immersive VR and augmented reality will get bigger, and its influence will eventually expand beyond the consumer space into industrial application. VR also allows experiential marketers to give consumers a behind the scenes look at premium experiences (i.e. half-time locker-room talks, sideline action, VIP access to concerts etc.)

On top of all of my above observations, the key learning I found from attending Slush was that the event itself was experiential marketing at its finest. The event developed an atmosphere of excitement ensuring that each attendee, from coder-extrodinaire to those who can’t determine a flip-phone from a smart phone, was engaged. DJs blasting EDM at the Welcome party and afterparties pushed attendees to network and feel comfortable in the high-tech setting while panels limited jargon and provided clear-cut visions of the future of tech.

CES will always be the go-to for the US, but I strongly recommend checking out SLUSH in upcoming years for a full 360 view of the future of tech and how it will affect marketing moving forward.

We can officially add another successful TopSpin Charity event into the books! Last night at the Metropolitan Pavilion, TopSpin and MKTG welcomed celebrities, industry executives and ping-pong champions to celebrate together and raise money for charity. TopSpin raises awareness and provides funds for exceptional nonprofits that provide educational opportunities for under-served youth.

Last nights event was MKTG and TopSpin’s fifth collaboration for the annual event. Similarly in years past, restaurant vendors came and served sample bites of their best dishes while guests had the opportunity to peruse the silent auction, take photos against the step & repeat and of course play some ping-pong! There have even been some rumblings of this being “the best TopSpin event yet.” We’ll take it!

Toyota Asks for Ideas About How to Use an Ultrasmall VehicleBy NICK CZAP

As a rush of innovation reshapes the automotive industry, from ride-hailing apps to autonomous driving technology, automakers have joined in rethinking the future of transportation.

Toyota, in one venture, is thinking small: a pint-size, three-wheeled electric vehicle called the i-road. It has built prototypes of the vehicle, but now it needs to develop a market for it.

At a demonstration last month outside AT&T Park in San Francisco, the futuristic i-Road was put through its paces, zigzagging between orange cones, its two front wheels pivoting like the legs of a downhill skier. A pair of electric motors, which push the vehicle to a top speed of 37 miles per hour, emitted a soft whine.

At the same time, 10 teams of entrepreneurs pitched their business plans to Toyota representatives and experts in mobility, urban planning, engineering and finance. The entrepreneurs had reached the final round of the Smart Mobility Challenge, which Toyota described as a call “to the innovators of Silicon Valley for ideas on how the i-Road could potentially transform mobility across work and play in the San Francisco Bay Area.” The top prize was $15,000 and the chance to team up with Toyota in bringing the business plan to life.

Fit a large saucepan with a steamer basket, and fill with 1 inch water; cover and bring to a boil. Add shrimp; cover and cook, tossing once, until opaque throughout, 30 seconds to 4 minutes (depending on size of shrimp). Immediately transfer to a colander, and run under cold water to stop cooking. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels, then finely chop and add smoked Paprika.

Today, psLIVE France hosted an event to officially announce that psLIVE France will officially be MKTG Paris as of December 1st. Following the announcement was a night of a celebration which was shared across their social media channels. Throughout 2016 we will be announcing a number of additional global transitions, so be sure to keep an eye out!

One of our favorite pre-Thanksgiving Atlanta traditions – the MKTG Dip Off – took place last week in front of another enthusiastic crowd of judges. This year featured a dozen dips from the always-a-crowd-pleaser buffalo chicken dip to an addicting peanut butter cup desert dip.

However, for the 3rd consecutive year the ultimate honor went to Atlanta Boss Man and General Manager Peter Pearce who wowed us with a Carolina Heritage Pork (Addiction) Dip which included foodie-loving ingredients such as Artisanal Cream Cheese and Free Range Sour Cream. Peter’s name will be forever engraved into the official MKTG Dip Off Champions Cup!

Last night Nike+ NYC officially unveiled their new Thursday Night Football “Color Rush” jerseys for the Jets vs. Bills game. In the week leading up to the jersey unveil, Nike+ NYC hosted a series of “Color Rush” themed runs throughout the city. Last night Nike trainer Knox Robinson led a 4.5 mile run through the city which ended at Midtown bar Snaffu 28. Runners were greeted with food and drink and of course, a live streaming of the Jets vs. Bills game!

During Portland Cocktail Week, Tanqueray sponsored three separate nights of activations. The Tanqueray lounge was a juice lounge for bartenders to relax, unwind, and charge their phones at our charging station. Green Leaf Juicing Company sponsored the juice portion of the lounge with sample giveaways plus a bottle giveaway for each bartender’s favorite juice. Rachel Ford aka “Lady Tanqueray,” hosted a meet and greet to speak to Tanqueray and pass out 50MLs of Tanqueray London Dry that bartenders could add to their choice of juice.

The Sensory Aesthetics of Garniture

Lynette Marrero and Rachel Ford led this two-hour session for two groups of 15 students. The seminar focused on the history of gins, importance of garnitures, and the best methods to prepare garnishes as well as techniques and trends.

Tanqueray Dinner at 23Hoyt

Tanqueray hosted dinner for 35 students, trainers and teachers while Rachel Ford spoke to the four cocktails that were going to be featured that evening. The featured gins of the evening were Tanqueray Bloomsbury, Booth’s, Tanqueray No. TEN and Tanqueary.